US Marines with Weapons Platoon, A Company, Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry-West, prepare to fire a 60-mm mortar round at Camp Pendleton, California. The service is seeking unmanned vehicle technologies to lighten the load carried by infantry marines. Source: US Marine Corps

The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to procure a fleet of 4x4 lightweight vehicles to fulfil an urgent requirement for the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) to equip an airborne battalion planned for activation in 2020.
The ACR is considering the Gepard, a new 4x4 vehicle based on the Toyota

Denmark’s Systematic has developed a new Variable Message Format (VMF) gateway for SitaWare Headquarters, part of its SitaWare command-and-control (C2) software suite.
Systematic has built on its work with the Australian Army to provide interoperability between VMF and other communications

Italy’s Elettronica has disclosed details of the company-funded development and demonstration of a shipborne electro-optical countermeasures (EOCM) system derived from airborne directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) technology.
Leveraging technology from the EuroDIRQM DIRCM system being

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has shown video footage confirming the in-flight refuelling capability of China’s J-20 multirole ‘fifth-generation’ fighter aircraft. However, the images, which show the platform’s refuelling probe being extended and retracted, were pixelated to

Belarus has started to construct its first armament factory, the chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee has revealed.
Roman Golovchenko announced the development of the plant near to the city of Orsha in the Vitebsk region in an interview with the Belarus 1 television channel.
The

The Bundeswehr awarded Rheinmetall a contract for 13,000 rounds of 120 mm x 570 DM88 tank ammunition worth EUR21.4 million (USD24.4 million), the company announced in a press release on 19 November.
Deliveries will run from November to the end of 2018.
Rheinmetall said the DM88 is a practice round

FEATURED REPORT

The appearance in September of photographs of a new missile carried on a Russian MiG-31 prompted widespread speculation as to the system's purpose. Malcolm Claus examines the new missile and assesses its intended role

Northrop Grumman has been contracted to begin work on the nine additional E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for Japan announced earlier this year.
With four aircraft under contract and in various stages of production, the company received a USD32.73

The US Air Force (USAF) has demonstrated the AERONET international datalink system in the most recent phase of its light attack experiment (LAE) conducted earlier this year, an official said on 13 November.
Speaking under the Chatham House Rule, the official noted that the tactical datalink was

Russia has deployed its newest chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicle to Syria to operate with military police units patrolling the Idlib de-escalation zone.
An RKhM-6 vehicle was seen in footage shown by the Russia 24 television network on 7 November that was

Northrop Grumman has been contracted to begin work on the nine additional E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for Japan announced earlier this year.
With four aircraft under contract and in various stages of production, the company received a USD32.73

Key Points
Australia has marked further progress in its Sea 1180 programme with the naming of its new OPV class and the start of steel welding on the first of class
The programme’s first of class is expected to be delivered by 2021
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has named the offshore

Key Points
The final statement approved by the international conference, in which all the major Libyan political actors participated, reaffirmed the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) framework and the UNSMIL Action Plan, but recognised the difficulty of holding a general election on 10 December

Key Points
The US Air Force has selected Tinker and Edwards AFBs as main B-21 support bases
Tinker AFB has a long history in aircraft maintenance, while Edwards AFB has previously hosted experimental aircraft
The US Air Force (USAF) has selected Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, and Edwards

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed his willingness to continue to take measures towards his country's denuclearisation, including the permanent dismantlement of the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, where a 5 MWe plutonium-producing reactor is located.
The move was announced on 19

Key Points
Concerns among the majority of the public in New Caledonia regarding the territory’s economic dependence on France are highly likely to offset any desire for full sovereignty, resulting in a vote to remain part of France.
There is a high risk of violence from disaffected

Key Points
The final statement approved by the international conference, in which all the major Libyan political actors participated, reaffirmed the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) framework and the UNSMIL Action Plan, but recognised the difficulty of holding a general election on 10 December

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) launched an agency dedicated to boosting military exports on 19 November.
The new Defense Export Promotion Center (DExPro) is intended to help local industry engage with international opportunities in line with DAPA’s